John Gill Commentary Exodus 19:21

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish." — Exodus 19:21 (ASV)

And the Lord said to Moses, go down;

As soon as he was got to the top of the mount he was told to go down again to the bottom, with a message to the people:

charge the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze;

to see if they could observe any similitude or likeness of God, that they might have an idea of it in their minds, or make an image like to it;

to prevent which, the Lord, knowing the vanity and curiosity of their minds, ordered Moses to give them a strict charge not to transgress the bounds set them, or to break down or break through the fence of stones and sand, or hedge of bushes, brambles, and branches of trees, or whatever was placed for bounds:

and many of them perish;

or "fall" ^F26; by the hand of God; either fall by death, or into some grievous calamity, as the men of Bethshemesh perished through looking into the ark, (1 Samuel 6:19) .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F26: (lpn) (peswsin) Sept. "et corruant", Pagninus, Tigurine version; "et cadat", Montanus; "cadant", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius; so Ainsworth.